Happy Birthday Ginger!
by Miss Bridget Sharpe
Summary: It's Ginger's birthday and she doesn't feel like celebrating.


**_A/N I wrote a story awhile back called Ginger's Birthday. This is a revised version. Hope you enjoy.  
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Five of the castaways were gathered around their bamboo table on their little island inhabitant. There were only five because what they were planning was intended to be a surprise for one and the other was out in the jungle gathering up specimens to study or maybe for some experiment. What exactly he was doing they weren't sure but it wasn't important at the moment. What was important was planning a nice party for the movie star of the island Ginger.

"Well." Mary Ann said as she looked over her list. "I can certainly take care of the cake. We still have some cocoa that had washed ashore. I'll make a nice chocolate cake with creamy frosting."

"Mmmm. I like chocolate cake." Gilligan said enthusiastically. "I like eating it so much! Oh boy!"

"We know Little Buddy." The Skipper responded. "But the cake is for Ginger not you. Don't go sneaking a piece when it's done."

Mary Ann shook her head with amusement. As if the Skipper wasn't excited about her baking a scrumptious chocolate cake and wouldn't go try and steal a piece himself. He has been know to do that. She recalled an incident when it was Mr. Howell's birthday. She and Mrs. Howell had a hard time keeping the cake away from the sailors.

"Mrs. Howell can you handle the decorations?" The farm girl asked.

"Of course dear. I know just what we need." The millionaire's wife had answered.

"And I have some music to play for the party." The Skipper added. "So all we need are the presents."

"Yeah." Gilligan stated. "But what does Ginger want?"

Thurston Howell pondered this. "What _does_ Ginger want…."

Mrs. Howell was just as puzzled as what they should give the movie star for her birthday.

Mary Ann sighed. "I can't think of anything..Wait!" She said an idea coming to her. "I got it! We still have that crate filled with those costumes from when Gilligan found that sunken yacht. Maybe I could make her a new outfit or a dress from that."

"Splendid idea Mary Ann." Mrs. Howell said. 'I know what I can do. I have tons of jewelry. I'll go through it and see what Ginger may like and give that to her as a present."

"Very thoughtful of you Lovey." Mr. Howell said smiling at his wife.

Gilligan then spoke up. "Hey if you are going to give her jewelry, I can make her a new box to put it in! I bet she would like that."

Skipper nodded. "That's sound like a fine idea Gilligan. I wonder what I could give her." He pondered. "I can't think of anything….Wait I know. She said her lounge chair is wobbly and wanted a new one. I'll make a new chair for her."

"Good idea Skipper." Gilligan said. "Now we all know what we are doing for presents. I wonder if the Professor knows what he's going to give Ginger."

It was then that they all turned their heads as the Professor himself had emerged from the jungle carrying a canvas bag in his hands. "Hello Everyone." He greeted. "What is going on here? You having some kind of meeting?" He asked.

"Oh we were just talking about Ginger's birthday." Mary Ann explained.

"Yeah we all thought of presents for her." Gilligan said. "Do you know what you are going to give Ginger, Professor?"

"Oh I will think of something." The academic replied. "If you will excuse me I have some work to do." He then walked off towards his hut. Once inside he set his bag down on his lab table.  
He didn't want to tell the others but he knew exactly what he was going to present to Ginger as a gift. He was a bit nervous about it as he was not sure how she would react but he really wanted her to have it. He loved that redheaded movie star so much it was killing him. Day after day his affection for her grew more and more. There simply was no way he could continue on like this so he decided to take action.

The Professor emptied the bag and spilled out the gold he had found in that mine Gilligan and Mr. Howell had discovered after the first few months on the island. It was going to be a tough task but he had everything he needed at his disposal complete it. He picked up the gold and began working diligently on his surprise gift to Ginger. His mind thought back to when that gold mine was found. He couldn't believe how they were all struck with gold fever, himself included. Then they try to sneak the gold on that raft the girls found and it sinks. The only silver lining was Ginger throwing her arms around him to keep from falling. He will never ever forget how that felt. He could never forget how he always felt around that movie star. More often then not he would get lost in her beautiful green eyes and totally forget what he was doing. Many times he lacked the ability to speak when she was near. His hands would get very shaky and he would feel extremely hot. Yes Ginger Grant was everything in the world to him and he needed to have her for his own. Needed to find someway of expressing his love for her and this was the perfect way to do it.

 **Hour Later**

Ginger sat on large rock by the lagoon staring out at the water. She was aware the others were planning something for her birthday. While she thought it was sweet of them she honestly didn't care to celebrate it. What was the point? She was alone and miserable. She had no one. Stuck on this island with no love to call her own. Seeing the Howells everyday irritated her. They had a happy loving marriage that yes was occasionally sprinkled with a fight or two but still they had each other. She wanted that. She wanted a husband to love her and take care of her. But there was no husband for her on this stupid island. She was just going to remain there for the rest of her life void of love.

The movie star was quite aware that the Skipper had a brief infatuation with her but it did nothing to boost her spirits. She wasn't attracted to the man and could never foresee herself ever being attracted to him. Gilligan was just a boy. Adorable yes but still a boy. While it was true she had acted flirtatious a few times she truly meant nothing by it. It was just her nature and besides she just got a kick out of how nervous he would get. She wasn't at all interested in Gilligan. He wasn't sophisticated or wordly. He was a boy. Mary Ann was more suited for him. Truth be told Ginger thought Gilligan and Mary Ann would make a cute couple.

There was the Professor. Professor Roy Hinkley Jr. She sighed thinking of him. He was so handsome and intelligent. And he didn't even realize how handsome he was. He could just look at her a certain way and it drove her mad. However he was so darn serious all the time she doubted he gave a thought about love let alone her. No the Professor spent his time thinking of ways to get rescued from the island or working something that that would help make life a little easier for them.

So here she was. Stuck. No man to love her. This was her fate. She was certain of it. That would be why she really didn't wish to celebrate her birthday. There was no reason to celebrate anything when she had no one.

The Professor had ventured out of his hut as he had finished his present for Ginger and now he wanted to work on a different project. The others were busy with their tasks so he decided on Ginger. Besides it would keep her occupied so the others can plan the party. He had already made the candles for her cake and dropped them off with Mary Ann.

He located Ginger by the lagoon sitting on a rock staring out at the water. "Ginger." He said walking up to her.

The movie star's heart rate accelerated at the sound of his voice. Chills went up her spine and she felt faintly hot. This of course was on the _inside._ On the _outside_ she appeared cool as a cucumber. "Hello Professor." She smiled.

"Ginger I am in need of your assistance." He announced.

"Oh?" She asked intrigued.

"Yes I need to locate some calcium sulfate for an experiment. I could use the help gathering it up. Would you mind helping me? It would appear at the moment Gilligan and Skipper are busy with others things." He said.

The starlet shrugged. "Okay I'll help you." She lifted herself up from the rock and smoothed out her dress. It was her short white dress with the words _SS Minnow_ printed on it. He never said it but the Professor had believed Ginger to look especially beautiful in that dress.

"I suppose I should change." Ginger said looking down at her attire. "I doubt this is suitable for spelunking." She said with a grin.

The Professor turned red for a minute and then cleared his throat. "No Ginger what you have on is…" He almost said ravishing but caught himself in time. "Fine." He finished with.

"If you say so." Ginger said feeling dejected he didn't pick up on her signal. What was wrong with this man! She put it out of her mind and followed him through the jungle as he searched for the cave.

The Professor's eyes came upon it and he led her inside. It being a little dark, Ginger took a hold of his arm. The Professor tried his very best to _not_ think of Ginger's hands holding him. It grew a little more dark the further they went in the cave. The Professor stopped and found a flashlight he had in his pack. Suddenly, they heard a rumbling. They had then felt the ground as it began to shake.

Ginger, frightened, clutched the Professor tighter. "What is that?" She asked.

"It appears to be some kind of earthquake." He replied. "I think it would be best if we…." He could not finish his sentence as the cave walls, shook and rocks began to fall. Thinking quickly, he pulled Ginger aside so they were both against a wall. Ginger's back was to it and the Professor was in front of her with his arms around her. The rocks ceased falling and the academic assessed the situation.

While he was doing that, Ginger was trying to do everything in her power to control the electricity and heat she was feeling with him being pressed so close to her body. "Well?" She asked. _Please say we are not trapped. Please say we are not trapped._

"We appear to be trapped." He replied.

Ginger could not believe it. How could this be happening! Trapped in a cave. With _him!_ "There…there has to be a way…can't we move those rocks or something…" She pleaded _. Please God don't let me be stuck here with him!_

"I'm afraid not." He said grimly. "There are too many and even if we did get them clear, there's a good chance the rest of the entrance way is blocked. Most likely could be from the outside and it would difficult to find a way to break through them."

"So…we are stuck here!" Ginger squeaked.

"I'm sure the others will come looking for us soon." The Professor assured her.

 _Great._ Ginger thought. _In the meantime I'm stuck here alone with you and if I remain pressed against you any longer I swear I will lose my mind!_ "I think I'll sit down." Ginger said maneuvering herself from the wall. She sat down on a pile of rocks feeling relieved that she was no longer in his arms. If she stayed there one second longer she would die.

He sat down next to her. "I'm sorry Ginger." He said.

"Sorry?" She said to him. "For what?"

"I'm sure this not how you envisioned spending your birthday."

"My birthday…" Ginger then laughed. "Oh…don't worry about it. I wasn't really in the mood to celebrate it anyway." She said.

The Professor turned his head towards her. "You weren't? Why not? Birthdays are happy occasions. Why wouldn't you wish to celebrate?"

The redhead sighed. "You wouldn't understand." She replied.

"I might." He said. "What is it? Why don't you want to celebrate your birthday?"

Ginger was silent for a minute before she spoke. "Because…I'm…I'm tired of being alone."

"Alone?" The Professor asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Professor that I am tired of not having anyone. I want a husband. I want a man to love me and take care of me. I see the Mrs. Howell with Mr. Howell everyday and it gets to me. I want to be that happy. I want to call someone my husband. I want to be someone's wife." She said picking at her nails. "I can't have that here. There is no one for me."

The scholar said nothing as he listened to her. She thought there was no one for her? No one to take care of her?

"I am just destined to remain on this awful island for the rest of my life and be all alone in the world with no man to love." Ginger continued. "That's all there is to it. I'll just die here all alone and miserable."

"Ginger." The Professor said carefully. "It doesn't have to be that way."

She whipped her head around. "Oh please Professor. Face it. No one is going to ever find us. And if they do they sure aren't going to tell anyone. We've been left here enough times to know that. We are just going to be stuck here until we die and that's that. Nothing else to say. I'll spend my years without anyone to love me."

"You don't have to do that." The academic said. "You do not have to spend your years with no one to love you."

Ginger was confused. "What are you saying Professor? You honestly think we are going to get off this island? Even if you are right and we do, I'll be so old and feeble no man will want me." She added with a pout.

"That's not true." He said taking her hand in his. "None of that is true. You can have someone to love you Ginger. And you can have that person right here on this island."

"I can?" Ginger said puzzled. "What do you mean? How?"

"I was going to wait but I think now is a good time. Ginger I had known for a long time that you wished for love and I was aware that you wanted a husband. I would like to give that to you." He stated.

"Give that to me?" She asked. "Just how do you plan on doing that?"

"By marrying you." He replied.

Ginger looked at him in bewilderment. "Marrying me?"

"Yes. Marrying you." The Professor took both of her hands in his. "I would like to marry you. I would like to be the one who loves you and takes care of you."

"You…You…want to marry me?" The redhead was floored. The Professor wished to be her husband?

"Very much so." He said. "Ginger I…I've been in love with you for a long time. I would love to be your husband. To love you and care for you. I can do that. Please Ginger say you will marry me. I swear I can make you happy."

The movie star removed her hands from his and stood up. Marry her? The Professor wanted to marry her? Was she dreaming? This was just a dream wasn't it? Any second Mary Ann will wake her up to start breakfast. This could not be real. She turned back towards him noting the look on his face. He looked as if his heart would break if she rejected him and she could not bear that. She loved him way too much. And he loved her! He loved her! He said he did. Didn't he?

Ginger finally spoke. "You love me Professor?"

"I do." He said getting to his feet. "I love you Ginger. I have for a long time."

"And you want to marry me?" She asked.

"Yes. I do. Do you want to marry me?" He questioned. His heart was pounding in his chest and his nerves were on edge. If she said no he was certain he would just die. He could not live with a rejection from Ginger. He just couldn't.

Ginger walked slowly towards him and carefully wrapped her arms around his neck. "Professor I love you. And I would love to marry you. Yes. I will marry you."

The Professor leaned in and gently captured her lips in a soft kiss. His arms went around her slender waist and he pulled her closer to his body. The kiss was deepened more and Ginger felt as if her knees were sure to give out. "I love you." She whispered as his lips moved to her neck.

She was backed against the cave wall and his hands went all over her body. Ginger's own fingers broke away the buttons on his shirt and ran up and down his tone chest. He pressed his mouth to hers again and the temperature inside the cave seemed to increase. The moment was interrupted when they heard a voice.

"Ginger? Professor? You in here?"

It was the Skipper. The two gathered themselves and moved apart as they recognized the sound of sea captain's voice.

"In here." The Professor replied quickly buttoning his shirt back up while Ginger fixed her dress. "Behind these rocks."

The two watched at the rocks were removed one by one until there was a clearing.

"You two okay?" The Skipper asked with Gilligan standing behind him.

"We are fine." The Professor assured. "Just glad you found us."

"Me too." Gilligan said. "We got worried when you didn't arrive back at camp."

"Hold tight. We will get you out of there in no time." The sea captain assured.

The two were finally free and they followed the two sailors out. "We felt the earthquake and thought you may have gotten trapped somewhere." The Skipper explained. "I saw you leaving your hut earlier and thought perhaps you had gone exploring in one of the caves. We couldn't find Ginger so we figure she may be with you."

"I'm glad you found us." Ginger said not really glad. She wished she could have stayed there a little bit longer.

The Skipper led them back to camp where Mary Ann, Mrs. Howell and Mr. Howell were waiting. All the decorations were hung and the cake was displayed on the table along with the presents. Ginger smiled at it all. "How wonderful." She said. "It was so sweet of you all do this for me."

"Of course we would." Mary Ann smiled. "We love you. Now let's light the candles on the cake and get the celebration underway."

Skipper found matches and lit each candle. They all gathered around the table singing Happy Birthday to the movie star. The Professor thought the glow from the candle light made her look more beautiful. She blew out the candles not really making a wish as her wish already came true. Ginger opened her presents and was touched by them all. The outfit Mary Ann made for her so cute. A pretty light green skirt and a matching top. She smiled at Mrs. Howell for giving her some of her precious jewelry. Especially a diamond bracelet she had also admired. "This is so kind of you Mrs. Howell." She said.

"Don't mention it dear." The socialite said. "I know you will put it to good use."

Ginger opened the jewelry box Gilligan made for her out of wood and bamboo. He even painted her name on top. "How sweet. Thank you Gilligan."

"You are welcome Ginger." He said with a grin.

"Ginger." Skipper said. "I couldn't wrap my gift but it's sitting right over there." He said pointing to the new lounge chair.

"Oh!" Ginger exclaimed. "Thank you Skipper. That was so thoughtful of you. I've been wanting a new chair. Thank you so much."

"You are very welcome." He said.

The Professor picked his gift up from the table and handed it to the movie star. "I suppose you may already know what this is."

Ginger lifted the lid and gasped. It was beautiful gold ring with a jewel on top. A pretty green jewel. He must have used the jewels that Gilligan found that time in the cave. "Professor it's beautiful." She said with tears of joy brimming in her eyes.

He carefully placed it on her finger and kissed her hand. "I love you. Will you marry me?"

Ginger wiped her tears away. "Yes I will! I love you!" With that she jumped up and placed a passionate kiss on his lips.

The others were speechless. The Professor proposed marriage to Ginger? She said yes?  
Mary Ann finally found her voice. "Um.. congratulations." She said. "It's wonderful."

"Yeah." Gilligan said speaking up. "It's great. Congrats Ginger and Professor."

Skipper was still in shock that the academic actually got the courage to do such a thing. Wow. He cleared his throat before speaking. "It is certainly nice." He said with a smile. "I am happy for you both."

Mrs. Howell was already planning the entire wedding in her head and babbled off a million ideas to Ginger who was found it quite comical and endearing. Mr. Howell got a bottle of his finest champagne and they all toasted the happy couple.

The music began and Ginger happily danced with her soon to be husband gazing deep into his eyes. She wasn't going to be alone anymore. The Professor loved her. He loved her and wanted to marry her! Ginger pressed her lips to his and they were lost in a deep kiss.

Mary Ann was dancing with Gilligan and was still blown away by the events. Just what went on in that cave? She had to wonder. The brunette put it out of her mind and focused back on Gilligan. Maybe one day she will be a lucky as Ginger. Maybe one day Gilligan will…she could hope.

The End!


End file.
